Thru 3: Bats come alive

The Nationals have a 4-1 lead after three innings, thanks to a couple of home runs from Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham.

Zimmerman crushed a three-run shot in the third inning to break a 1-1 tie. It was his first homer since June 29, and only his third since the start of June. He appears to be out of his slump, though—he’s hit in 12 of the Nats’ last 13 games.

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Willingham punched a high fastball from Jason Hammel to left for the Nats’ first run.

Jordan Zimmermann has struggled through the first three innings, throwing 60 pitches and walking three batters. He escaped nicely out of a jam in the second inning and got a quick double play in the third, but he’s going to need a couple short innings to last in this one.